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What's a Wreck?

A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places.

I've jokingly told my friends and family that I'm boycotting Christmas this year, and I bet a lot of you can relate: too much stress, too little time to sit back and remember what it was that you used to love about this time of year, and too many annoying advertisers screeching that you're a bad parent or friend or loved one if you don't BUY STUFF - and lots of it.

But here's the thing: buying the usual run of candles and foot massagers and, yes, even outrageously funny gift books [wink wink] for my loved ones doesn't get me in the holiday spirit. Frankly, most of these gifts don't get them in the spirit, either.

"Gee, you shouldn't have. No, seriously."

I found inspiration in the form of Wreckie Collette Yates (no relation) and the Charity Cake-Wreck-a-thon she and some friends recently put together in Brighton. See, they asked friends and community members to bring in horrendously decorated baked goods (and boy, were there some doozies) which they sold at a local train station. In one afternoon they managed to raise 450 pounds for two cancer-fighting charities.

(From the left, that's Rachel, Collette, & Helen)

The power of Wreckage, used for good!

Now, Cake Wrecks is the sole source of income for me and John. (We used to be painters, but the economy nixed that.) However, thanks to you readers we can still afford to to give a little.

Which got us thinking: If 3 gals can use Cake Wrecks as a springboard to organize something that cool for charity, why can't we? And since Wreckies are some of the most creative, giving, and nattily dressed folks we know....

(You continue to rock, Mary Beth.)

...then why not get you, the evil wreckyhenchpersons, involved?

So here's the deal: instead of buying gifts or trees or decorations this year, John and I are going to donate a minimum of $200 to a different charity or worthy cause, every day, for the next two weeks.

Which ones?

Well, that's where you come in.

See, we have a few organizations in mind, but certainly not 14. So, I'm asking for your recommendations.What are you passionate about? Where do you volunteer your time, talents, and money? Who do you know that needs help? Tell me in the comments (not e-mail!), so that we all can read and learn and maybe even give a little together.

Oh, and if you're worrying that CW is going to turn into a charity-pushing propaganda site for the next few weeks: don't. I'll just be adding a footnote to each day's post giving you the name of the organization, a one-sentence summary, and a link if you want to learn more.

Now, John and I will be choosing each day's charity based on our own individual passions - which might not match up exactly with your own - but even so I'm going to issue you a little challenge. Ready? Here 'tis:

Give one dollar to each day's charity.

If you each give one dollar - just one solitary smackeroo - together we can raise over $80,000 each day. BAM. Just like that. Imagine that 14 times over, all for worthy causes. Imagine the number of lives that could impact. Imagine, if you will...the bragging rights.

Yeah, you heard me. When you get involved in something that awesome, you get major bragging rights.

Ok. So. You pumped? You with me? You...ready for this post to be over? Heh, I hear ya.

Today's charity is Charity: Water. These guys use 100% of all donations to drill wells and provide clean drinking water to developing nations. Believe it or not, 1 out of 8 people on the planet lack this basic life-need, and every $5,000 builds a well that serves over 250 people.

Go here to donate your $1. That's the CW campaign page, where you can watch our progress, leave notes, and learn more. (Watch the video: it'll make you do a happy dance.) I've set us an easy goal - just $20K, or 4 wells - so I can't wait to see how far above and beyond that you guys are going to get us.

It's just a dollar, guys. C'mon. Let's do this together.

Note: PayPal *is* an option to donate, if you click here and hit the red donate button. A few caveats, though: PayPal takes $.30 of your dollar in fees, and your donation can't be tracked as part of the CW campaign that way. However, the point here is to give, so if you're only comfortable using PayPal, then please do so!

Update: One well down! That's right, guys, as of 4PM EST, we raised enough to pay for one well! Just three more to go...

Reader Comments (1529)

Wow... the first charity is awesome... THAT IS MY PASSION!! Since I was a little girl I've always said that my goal in life was to help get clean water to everyone in Africa... awesome!!!

I have a few charities I love:

World Vision - you can support oodles of different causes through this wonderful organization(worldvision.org)

World Relief - a baltimore based organization similar to world vision but smaller in size... they are focused on connecting domestic churches with churches in developing nations(www.wr.org)

Heiffer International - give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach a man to fish feed him for a lifetime... give a community a goat, get milk and reproduce to get more goats and spread the wealth... www.heifer.org

Operation Smile - I believe it's $250 can pay for a child with a clef pallette to have the smile saving surgery they need....http://www.operationsmile.org/

The Mocha Club: I recently found this website through a favorite band's twitter... i bough a bunch of Christmas presents and the full amount goes to helping people in Africa... plus you can join the club for the cost of two cups of coffee a day (https://www.mochaclub.org/)

I volunteer for Make a Wish Foundation. It's an amazing program that gives kids with disabilities & terminal deseases the chance to do what they really want to do. Just go to their website, www.wish.org to learn more. I think that would be a wonderful cause to donate to.

Shriner's Hospital for Children. They provide free - FREE - medical care for children with birth defects, deformities, burn scars, etc, from age birth to 18. And you thought all they did was wear funny hats and drive tiny cars in parades....

OK, I'm on board. One dollar a day is doable and this first charity seems well worth it. I would like to suggest one of my charities to receive your daily gift.I volunteer at Rescue Village. It's the animal shelter in Geauga County Ohio. We are supported by donations and fund raising events. The current economy has made us extra busy. People having to give up their pets when they lose their homes. We rescue dogs, cats and currently have two pigs, one pony and one horse. Most people don't realize that the expenses include so much more than food. There's the laundry that needs to be done to assure that the animals have clean bedding, the grounds work that allows us to take the dogs for walks and playtime. We will never destroy an adoptable animal so some of our residents are long timers. We could really use the extra funds to keep up with the times. Thank you, Polly Feldman

Done and done, with nine other dollars to cover some people who might not be able to. This is a really cool thing you're doing - thank you for stepping up like this. My family and I celebrate Christmas each year by doing charity rather than giving gifts (don't worry, we also have a Christmas Martini tradition to follow midnight mass) and it's really, really awesome to see people with a lot of popularity encouraging others to do the same thing. And it looks like this charity really needs the money to make its goal.

This is a great organization rescuing dogs from all around the country. We got our Marley from Florida- the people from Shamrock called us to let us know they had a dog for us, and that since they were out of money and out of fosters, he would be euthanized the next day if we could not take him. What a loss that would have been- he's the sweetest dog I've ever met, and he loves people so much despite the fact that he's been used to make people money his entire life!

Anyway, this is a great idea you have, and I hope you pick Shamrock- for the doggies! Not enough fosters means that they can't rescue as many dogs, and the dogs are euthanized when they retire from racing. However, it is hard for people to foster because while you house a dog for other people, you have to buy food, softies (greys love soft toys), vet care, etc., and the organization doesn't have the funds to reimburse enough. And right now they are have a special funds drive so that Santa Dog can come for all the fosters!

Well, I volunteer at air museums from time to time. I believe their contribution to public knowledge of the past is vital to letting us know how we got here...but I'm a history teacher, so I may be biased.

Since it's the Season, I would like to recommend, instead, something else that is near my heart: adoption and orphans.

I never comment here but read everyday! One thing I'm passionate about is animal rescue. There's a place in Tennessee called A Place to Bark run by a lady named Bernie Berlin. She's doing everything in her power to save all the animals she can in her area virtually BY HERSELF! She's so close to finishing her actual shelter building but needs money to do it. It's getting ready to be the dead of winter there and she wants to finish it for the dogs/cats!

The Kids’ Place began as a community-based, independent, non-profit charity devoted to providing grief support services to children, ages four through teens, who are mourning the death of a family member or friend.

In the summer of 2004, the Edmond Church of Christ took on the leadership of The Kids’ Place in Edmond with the purpose of continuing the effective work of grief support. Under the oversight of the Edmond Church of Christ, The Kids’ Place provides local grief support services to children, ages four through teens, who are mourning the death of a family member or friend. The Kids' Place ministry is a faith-based program that strives to offer comfort, hope and peace found only in Jesus Christ.

Each fall and spring, we conduct three support groups at The Kids’ Place in Edmond. Each group, which meets on a different evening (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday), is divided into age-appropriate small groups so children can have maximum care and support. There are concurrent groups for their adult family members each night.

With the involvement of many caring volunteers and the support and prayers of so many, we provide services to about 50 families, representing over 150 individuals, throughout each year. Our goal is to provide a safe place to grieve and to be a loving companion for children and families on their grief journeys.

What a great idea! And I sure do like the idea of helping someone have clean drinking water. It's about all I drink most of the time, and I would go stark raving mad if I didn't have it. Thanks for being so generous and for giving us all a chance to join in!

Jen and John,You guys are awesome. This is such a great idea! I definitely applaud your giving spirit.

And I have a great charity you can support! I am on the Board of Directors of the Medical Hypnosis Foundation which is a non-profit group that works to provide self-hypnosis training to seriously ill individuals who would not otherwise be able to afford it. We mostly work with cancer patients right now, teaching them to use hypnosis to help control their pain, the side effects of their treatment, and other things like that. Here's the website for more information www.medicalhypnosisfoundation.org. It really is a great cause and has helped a lot of people in our area. We would love to get your help in expanding the number of people we can reach! Thanks!

I don't have a specific charity per se, but I would choose a food pantry organization. Personally I'm planning to donate a little money and food to my local pantry (http://www.interfaithrelief.org/) - especially since my company managed to squeak out a modest bonus for us - but you could pick one closer to you or one that's more widely distributed. With the US economy in the state it's in, I know our local chapter keeps running out of food. I would be willing to bet a poo-poo platter CCC that others are, too.

Besides, what better way to raise support for an organization providing nutritious food for those in need than through a site showing badly decorated junk food? :)

CIDNY--Center for Independence for the Disabled in New York. I work there. We just lost a contract from the state to keep people out of nursing homes. As a result, we have a huge hole in our budget, and several employees there are facing losing their jobs in the new year. Fewer employees means that we are less able to deliver services to disabled New Yorker's. We have seen demand for services rise 400% since the beginning of the economic crisis. Please help.

My favorite charity is www.thebreastcancersite.com. They use proceeds to fund mammograms for women who can't afford them. I've had several women in my family get and survive breast cancer, so this one is near and dear to my heart.

Wonderful idea! I'm going to put in my vote for Heifer International, an organization interested less in the "give a man a fish" approach, and more in the "teach a man to fish" method by providing livestock and training to impoverished communities throughout the world.

A lot of people complain about them because they spend a lot of money on publicity... but I think that's equally important! Advocacy and education do more for ending a problem than pure cash does, in my opinion.

Barring that, any local animal shelter. The more animals they can care for, the more can survive!

This is a brilliant idea. One dollar is something that most people can afford, and I commend you guys for thinking of this idea. Thanks for spreading the holiday cheer and helping us remember that we can give to people outside of our little circle.

Hi!Blessings Unleashed Foundation is a non-profit that provides trained service dogs for children with autism. They are located in Glasgow, KY and their website is www.blessingsunleashed.org. My husband and I are puppy raisers for this organization. We have had a yellow lab named Kaiya living with us for the past year. She is being trained to be a service dog and will soon go to a child with Autism. This is a great organization and could use any donations!

This is really admirable!I know someone who needs help. My father suddenly had a heart attack on monday, now not only I but also his wife and my two sisters (13 and 7) are devastated. I live in Germany with my mother, but those three will be all alone this Christmas. We already tried to collectr money from the family, but it won't suffice to pay for the move back to her parents.I know there are millions of people out there who need help much more than them, but since they are so close to me, it really breaks my heart.If you happen to feel like it, there is a "Richmond Family Memorial Fund" at Georgia Bank and Trust, 627 Ronald Reagan Dr, Evans GA. (706) 854-6270. Thank you for reading.

What a great idea! I pledge to donate a dollar a day to your 14 selected charities. I have a charity I would like to nominate for your "Charity a Day". The group is Ignite Missions. They are a mission group in Honduras which provides immediate medical care to extremely poor families. I went on a trip with them this past summer and worked in the medical clinic in triage. It's amazing the basic care items we take for granted n the US. The people don't have vitamins, cough syrup, aspirin, or prenatal care. So many kids with skin problems that could be fixed with soap, water and a little anti-fungal cream. We also diagnosed vision problems on site and gave glasses on site. My friend Becky is the optometrist and she has gone donated her time and resources for 8 years in a row. My now friends, Sam and Peggy Feazel run the mission. I am one of their monthly supporters. They really need a safe bus (20 passenger van) to transport all of us volunteers down into the villages. The exposure on your site would be invaluable. I appreciate all you do... believe it or not laughing at a cake can make a lot of problems go away:) Please check out their website a t www.ignitemissions.org for more information about their charity. Thank you again for your good will. Sincerely, Becky Garland Lakewood, CA

May I humbly suggest a donation to the Huntington's Society of America?

Huntington's Disease is a poorly understood, mentally and physically debilitating disease that is passed down through generations. Most people adopt children to avoid spreading the disease, but some families, like mine, don't know that they have it until it's too late.

Despite a fair amount of HD sufferers in the world, very few people actually seem to know about it.

Bless you, JenYou've revived my faith in humankind, not to mention my willingness to face the holiday hoopla.I would love to recommend The HEIFER PROJECT for your consideration. This is the wonderful group that gives livestock to people to help them create a source of income, and keep it moving in their communities. The first offspring of each animal must be given to someone else.www.heifer.orgAnother wonderful group is STARCROSS COMMUNITY. They adopt babies with AIDS and raise them in a loving environment. They started in Sonoma County, CA, and now have satellites in Romania and Africahttp://www.starcross.org/aids-beginning.htm

http://uncultured.com/" rel="nofollow">The Uncultured Project Not exactly a charity, but Shawn works really hard to end poverty. Check out some of his YouTube videos, he's amazing.

If you want an "actual" charity, I'd check out http://www.kiva.org/" rel="nofollow">kiva.org, a microfinance site that loans money to impoverished individuals world-wide to help them break out of the cycle of poverty. The neat thing is, your donation is a loan. They pay it back, and you can keep using that same donation to help other entrepreneurs. Pretty sweet.

Great idea to help at this time of year! :)I would recommend Make-A-Wish as a fantastic charity that would welcome support...Our niece, Sara, is 13. At 8 she was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma (very icky childhood cancer). She has been through everything and then some.She was in remission for 5 years, but now the cancer is back- there is no new treatment for her...she is in constant pain-it is horrible.BUT, there have been fantastic highlights in her experience made possible by Make-A-Wish. They are a truly amazing goup. It benefits the children and their entire families in making dreams come true in a very dark time... wonderful....Merry Christmastime :)Pam

My grandmother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's when I was 8 years old. I am now 20, and she is now 78 and cannot walk, talk, or eat by herself. She has been able to stay home with family instead of being put in a nursing home, but it didn't come without massive hurdles and challenges. ALZ.org is the website of the Alzheimer's Association and would love to see money go to them, so in the future young people might have a chance at knowing their grandparents, and children may be able to just be with their parents because they love them instead of having to care for them as though they were now children.

If it hasn't been suggested already, Childs' Play < childsplaycharity.org > is a great charity; they help to provide toys and games, among other things to childrens' hospitals and childrens' wards in hospitals in order to make hospital stays more bearable for the little ones.

The other charity I highly support and recommend is Heifer Project < heifer.org >. Heifer provides livestock and plants, as well as training on how to use them to become self-sustaining to villages in developing nations, as well as right here in the US. Instead of giving gifts to my family for christmas, I've donated to Heifer for the last three years.

I support a lot of the home-grown organizations in my area. My favorite local is the Emmaus Mission Center - I love the mission of their girls' home. They also offer an emergency housing shelter, crisis intervention center, food pantry, and more. http://www.logan-emmaus.org/html/mailing_list.html

I also donate funds to the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. My son was born 11 weeks early and weighed less than 3 pounds. He had several surgeries at Riley, and I want to do whatever small thing I can to help other kids like him. http://rileychildrenshospital.com/

I would like to suggest adoptuskids. There are thousands of children in foster care in the United States who are anxiously awaiting families to choose to adopt them. I am an adoptive parent of 9 children adopted from foster care. I know children who are waiting for someone to adopt them who actually try to find their own adoptive families. A family should be a RIGHT not a privilege to be earned!!!! Together we can all help these kids get the families they deserve. You don't have to be a perfect parent to be the perfect parent for a child!

Love the idea, excellent! BTW you might want to run prospective charities through this site:http://www.charitynavigator.org/ which will tell you which are the most efficient at getting your $ to the cause itself.

I'm starting things off with a $100donation to charity: water in support of this fabulous idea!

I suggest donating to Heifer International. You can buy heifers, goats, rabbits, chickens ... all sorts of livestock that can change the lives of the families who receive them, in impoverished communities all over the world. And, it's the gift that keeps giving, because each needy family agrees to donate the offspring - the new calf, kid, chicks, etc. - to another needy family in their area, so all can share in the wealth! Great idea Jen and John - you are an inspiration!

I spend most of my free time volunteering with the International Order of Rainbow for Girls. It's a youth organization sponsored by the Masons, that teaches service and leadership. Every year the Grand Worthy Advisor of each state chooses a service project. This year the Florida GWA chose a really great project, the Starlight Children's Foundation. I could spend a lot of time explaining starlight so instead here's the website: http://www.starlight.org/home.aspx

Florida's GWA is hoping to be able to raise enough money to donate at least one fun center mobile entertainment unit or sponsor a great escape.

Jen & John, This is an amazing idea! Ghandi said, "be the change you want to see in the world" and you guys definitely are doing it.

I have been a member of Soldier's Angels since 2004. This group was started by the mother of an Army Sgt. when she found out that some of the guys in his group got no mail at all. I do everything I possibly can for my soldiers (I currently have 3) that I adopt. I remember hearing stories from my parents about the sacrifices they made during WWII and I wondered, What could I do? So I gave up having my nails done every two weeks. More money for care packages. I gave up getting highlights in my hair. More money for care packages. I gave up eating lunch out every day. More money for care packages. It's not much but at least I feel that I'm helping someone far away from home cope with the stress of war knowing that a stranger back home really cares. Check us out at: www.soldiersangels.org

Hi! I am a huge fan of Cake Wrecks, and I check it every day! I work for Christian Services of Oklahoma, a non-profit adoption agency and maternity home. We work with women in unplanned pregnancy situations and help them either with an adoption plan or help them get on their feet so they can parent their child. We have a maternity home they can live in free of charge while working on their plan. We approve Christian adoptive families for our birth mothers to place their babies with. We also have a foster care program through the state where we provide Christian foster homes for babies in the state foster care system. We would love to be considered for one of your charities! Thanks!

I am so impressed with this post. Thank you for the reminder about the gifts that actually matter at Christmas.

I humbly suggest you look at worldvision.org and/or heifer.org; they have similar goals and both involve teaching third world citizens how to responsibly manage and pass on the livestock/fowl/seeds given.

I also am excited by the Blood: Water Mission (bloodwatermission.com)as they focus on both HIV/AIDS and clean water.

Hooray for you guys! You have lifted my spirit at my least favorite time of the year. Smile Train is a worthy recipient. They repair cleft lips/palates on children in third world countries. Dollar for dollar,they are the most financially efficient charity, and they give a child a chance to smile, what a gift.Karen FredericksSeattle, WA

I recommend Restoring Hope International. They are raising money to build a home in South Africa for children orphaned by AIDS. They are good people doing good work, just getting their organization off the ground, and I can't imagine what kind of a blessing it would be to them to have the power of Cake Wrecks behind them.

Jenn, this is an amazing idea! I have serveral different places that come to mind. Autism Speaks is the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. It would be AMAZING if they could raise that kind of money, they really are the forerunner in Autism awareness. (www.autismspeaks.org) I was wondering if you would donate to private places too?

My suggestion for a charity is Free the Children. It's group that empowers children in North America to take action to improve the lives of children in disadvantaged countries. The Free the Children website: http://www.freethechildren.com/

The charity I'd like you to donate to is Alpine Autism Center, in Colorado Springs. They are working miracles with kids - including my own - that the school districts have given up on. www.alpineautismcenter.orgthey are a 501,c,3 non profit.

My son was a patient for 17 years. They saved his life, and the lives of so many children. They share their research with childrens' hospitals all over the world, and no family is ever turned away because of their inability to pay. St. Jude pays 100% of the cost of treating the cancer, as well as food, lodging, and travel expenses for each family. It is a tremendous organization! Please consider it for your donation! Thank you!